Is this one bird or two birds? Either way, it looks like the same species. But I'm not going to tell you just yet I'll leave it to you to at least narrow it down a bit more. You're guessing that it could be "another Steppe", based on what? The fact that it's brown?

Sure,your bird is brown and it's obviously a big raptor. There aren't really that many brown birds of prey and they pretty much come from only two families (broadly speaking), Eagles and Buzzards. So first tell me, do you think your bird is an Eagle or a Buzzard? Why?

PS - Don't you rather want to embed your pictures in your posts? It makes it easier for us to view them, not having to navigate to another page to see the image? All you need to do is put {img} before the URL and {/img} after the URL. Just replace the curly brackets with square brackets, I used curlies so that this post won't be formatted as if it's a picture.

"Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel." -Homer Simpson

deefstes wrote:Is this one bird or two birds? Either way, it looks like the same species. But I'm not going to tell you just yet I'll leave it to you to at least narrow it down a bit more. You're guessing that it could be "another Steppe", based on what? The fact that it's brown?

Sure,your bird is brown and it's obviously a big raptor. There aren't really that many brown birds of prey and they pretty much come from only two families (broadly speaking), Eagles and Buzzards. So first tell me, do you think your bird is an Eagle or a Buzzard? Why?

First of all I thought by making a link you get a bigger picture of the bird..but will now embed them in my post.

Deefstes lets see why I get so confused and why I question the ID’s

Bird No. 2 above:

European Honey Buzzard / Wahlberg’s Eagle or Tawny Eagle

The gape reaches below mid eye - allBill Yellow with black tip - allThe tail looks long and square – maybe Honey BuzzardIt does not look like the legs are covered in feathers – Honey Buzzard, but not Tawny or Wahlberg’s

Bird No. 3 above:

Bill and gape looks the same as bird No. 2 aboveLegs look like they could be covered with feathers?The overall color looks more mottled (lighter than bird no. 2)

Bird 2:Honey-Buzzard is considered a national rarity so it is not really a bird that should come to mind first when you're working on an ID. It wouldn't be strange for you to see a couple of hundred Steppe Buzzards before you see your first Honey-Buzzard. Apart from the statistical unlikelihood (is there such a word?), there are other features that also rule out Honey-Buzzard. The yellow cere for one is a deal breaker. Honey-Buzzard is one of the few raptors with a grey cere. Honey-Buzzard also has a very distinct undertail barring pattern and a distinctive head shape (which reminds of a Pigeon).

Your observation of the extent of the gape is accurate and that does rule out Steppe Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle, leaving Wahlberg's Eagle and Tawny Eagle. I can see why you have doubts about the legs being covered with feathers or not. I'm not sure what to make of it because the bird's right leg does seem surprisingly exposed. The bird definitely is an Eagle though and I suspect it has something to do with wind blowing the feathers open. The all brown undertail is also a strong indicator that the bird is not a Buzzard.

OK, so we're left with Tawny Eagle and Wahlberg's Eagle. I think this is a common ID challenge that birders end up with as both of these birds are very common (especially in Kruger). The differences between the two species are also more in their structure really than in their plumage and this is something that takes a while to appreciate. I have to be honest that my first thought when I saw the picture was Tawny Eagle (and I alluded to that in my previous post). The relatively long tail then had me revise my opinion to Wahlberg's. But finally I think I'll settle for Tawny because of the relatively heavy bill (compared to Wahlberg's that have a little more dainty bill), the contrast between the wing coverts and darker primaries and the fairly baggy appearance of the feathers surrounding the legs.

Bird 3:Try not to get too caught up in trying to establish the colour of these birds. Large raptors can be so variable in plumage that it is often of little help to know just how brown a bird is. The picture doesn't show much, although you did observe the gape correctly, but based on the general impression that the bird gives, I'd go for Tawny Eagle again.

The identification of Aquila eagles really isn't a trivial task and you're allowed to struggle with them . I think many birders don't appreciate just how difficult they can be and try to ID them too hastily.

"Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel." -Homer Simpson

Hi, Could you help me to identify this eagle?I hesitate between "Eagle, Steppe" and "Eagle, Tawny". For the perched Eagle, the criteria of the corner of the mouth is near the limit too...The photo of the eagle was taken near Lower Sabie at the end of July.